The Way You Are
by TheDarkestFallingStar
Summary: She did not expect this, it started something casual and he just… broke down all her walls and vice versa. Cursed Wolf, Sweet Swan… what could go wrong?
1. Chapter One

**FAGE 8: Soul Mates**  
 **Title:** The Way You Are  
 **Written for:** CloeMarrie  
 **Written By:** TheDarkestFallingStar

 **Beta: Lisa**  
 **Rating:** M  
 **Summary:** She did not expect this, it started something casual and he just… broke down all her walls and vice versa. Cursed Wolf, Sweet Swan… what could go wrong?

 **Prompt used:** Just The Way You Are by Bruno Mars/ They are screw buddies but she falls for him

 **If you would like to see all the stories that are a part of this exchange visit the Facebook group: Fanficaholics Anon: Where Obsession Never Sleeps, or add the C2 to get all the stories direct to your inbox.  
community/FAGE-8-Soul-Mates/93625/**

* * *

~*~  
Oh you know, you know, you know

 _I'd never ask you to change_

 _If perfect's what you're searching for_

 _Then just stay the same_

 _So don't even bother asking if you look okay_

* * *

 **Chapter One – Bella POV**

It was three years, four months, twelve hours and 53 minutes to the day, when I first met Nik. It was two months after the disastrous incident that no one shall ever mention again after the last fucker who decided to rub it in my face.

Yeah, he took a little tumble down the stairs or two and had a nice stay in the hospital.

That was the first time I ever met Nik. He caught my little show, and compelled the asshole, so I would not get my pale ass put in jail. I was thankful of course, since Charlie was police chief and Mikes mom the town gossiper and knew exactly what he was the moment I caught his eyes.

 _"Well are you going to kill me or what cursed wolf?"_ I asked that as I began to make my way home, he of course was not going to let her escape after that comment. This of course I knew the second the words were out of my half-drunk mouth.

 _"HOW do you know that?"_ He had replied, lifting her off the ground by the throat.

I really did not know what I was doing nor did I care for a fact, the pain was too great and the anger just would not leave me be, so I lifted up my arm and showed him the bite. "Took a little misadventure with cold ones, got bit, got the venom sucked out… got a shitty gift in the process."

Really, that caught the original's interest. Nik did not really trust me at first but he wanted to hear the story so to speak before he killed me, unless I was useful to him somehow. I explained to him how I fell in love with a Cold One; the whole incident with James and knew the feeling of Venom searing my veins before being sucked back out of my system painfully.

Ironically, that did not settle well with Nik.

I told him how my life after that was me being turned into a submissive little mouse, being told when and what to eat, who I was and wasn't allowed to see and even in the end they tried to keep me from my father. I explained in full detail, what happened the day of the disastrous incident, I just could stop.

The full amount of pain and betrayal washed through me when I started to withdrawal from their presence. My mind taken from me before returning with a vengeance and clarity I had not had since the moment I met Eddie.

I do not know what I did but Nik began to explain to me his life, the curse upon him and everything that happened from the day his mother turned them. We grew close and began to trust one another more; this of course led to drunken night fling that just kept on happening.

Hey, I did not mind that bit at all. I lost my virginity to one of the shifters, Paul to be precise and that was one hell of a ride to heaven but it was nothing compared to Niklaus. Nik made me burn in ways I didn't know happened, made me scream in pleasure to the point I saw heaven and then crashed all the way down into hell with one fantastic trip that left me breathless and jelly.

It always amused him and yet there was another emotion hidden behind his cerulean blues I could not pinpoint.

However, that was a while ago now, it had been one year, four days and 36 seconds since I had seen or heard from Nik. I woke up one morning with a note from him saying he was sorry and that was the end. When I tried to call a few days later, I found out the phone number was disconnected. It hurt me in ways I did not know was possible. Our mutual agreement to call one another when we needed to scratch the itch but nothing more seemed to change.

I grew to care for the bastard and daresay I… _No Iza, bad… we do not go thinking about things like that anymore! Remember? This is how we stop from being hurt._

"Well what is a pretty thing like you, doing in a dump like this?" A cocky voice asked from what was once the empty stool beside me.

"Bugger off." I replied while throwing back the remaining bourbon in my glass and gesturing for another.

"Don't be like that Sweet cheeks; I was just trying to be friendly." The voice stated once more, this time daresay a little shocked.

With a huff, I roll my eyes. "Yeah and hoping for a little tumble in the sheet? Sorry pal isn't going to happen."

When I heard the bartender laugh, I raised my eyes and turned to look at the bloody asshole beside me. _Just Great! Another vampire!_ His blue eyes were wide and he just gaped at me in disbelief. This caused me to snort again. "You're used to getting what you want don't you? Afraid to say, you really aren't my type."

"Well this is truly a first, is the great Damon Salvatore being turned down?" My eyes snapped to the amused teen – _Original –_ that suddenly appeared out of nowhere and wedged his body between me and Damon, a cocky grin on his face that I am sure he thought was charming.

"I'm sorry for my _friend,_ the name's Kol and you are?" He introduced, causing my brows to rise. There was no way I was getting involved with the little brother of Nik, I have heard stories of Kol and unfortunately, he is not my cup of tea either.

"I'm going to need another drink, something stronger." I told the Bartender, completely ignoring Kol. I watched as he simply raised his brows and nodded before going to get me a stronger drink, this time it was Damon who I heard laughing.

" _She snubbed you pretty boy, aren't so lucky either."_

 _"I'll have her in my bed screaming my name before you."_

"Do you mind?" I sigh out, turning my head to scowl at the two. They turned their eyes to me quickly, stopping mid argument. "I am pretty sure I turned you both down, now if you don't mind… bugger off and let me drink in peace."

A deep chuckled reached my ears, causing a shudder to run down my spine and stir up the embers of my anger. My body drooped and tensed at the same time as my hand curled tightly around the glass making it groan. I waited until the bastard got closer to me before turning around and punching him in his goddamn handsome face.

Nik clutched his face in surprise while the other two sat stunned. "Well I didn't deserve that love."

"The hell you didn't Niklaus." I hiss before throwing a couple of bills on the bar top and storming out of The Grill.

* * *

 **Author Note: Chapter One complete, four more to go! Hopefully.**


	2. Chapter Two

**FAGE 8: Soul Mates**  
 **Title:** The Way You Are  
 **Written for:** CloeMarrie  
 **Written By:** TheDarkestFallingStar

 **Beta: Lisa**  
 **Rating:** M  
 **Summary:** She did not expect this, it started something casual and he just… broke down all her walls and vice versa. Cursed Wolf, Sweet Swan… what could go wrong?

 **Prompt used:** Just The Way You Are by Bruno Mars/ They are screw buddies but she falls for him

 **If you would like to see all the stories that are a part of this exchange visit the Facebook group: Fanficaholics Anon: Where Obsession Never Sleeps, or add the C2 to get all the stories direct to your inbox.  
community/FAGE-8-Soul-Mates/93625/**

* * *

 **Chapter Two – Bella POV**

I did not even make it four steps outside until I found myself picked up and slung over Nik's shoulder. I could not escape from his hold, seeming as though I was stronger than humans I was nowhere near as strong as a full-blooded wolf, vamp, or even an original.

Therefore, I did the only thing I could, kick and scream bloody murder while calling him every name under the sun that did not take it too far. Because even though he was an asshole who decided to go 'hey fuck it I'm going to leave Bella high and dry' I did not make any derogatory remarks, I knew how much they hurt and I still respected the man.

"Can she even say those things to him?" Damon asked as we came to a sudden stop. I felt my world tilt and a groan left my lips, as the vertigo seemed to catch up on me.

"Put me down right now Klaus or I'll vomit all that booze I just drank down your back." I warned before finding myself thrown onto a very comfortable couch.

"This is a first." Kol replied and continued to utter nonsense but my eyes never strayed from Klaus. My body was tense and it took all my will power not to simply get up and punch him again.

"The deal was that if we ever wanted to end it, we actually tell the other. Not disappear in thin air with a sorry note and disconnected number." I state blandly while sitting up, I could have sworn I saw Nik flinch but that may have been my imagination.

"Look Iza…" I cut him off real quick.

"Isabella, you have no right to call me Iza, Klaus." I point out and now I know I did not imagine this flinch, it seemed his whole body recoiled at the iciness of my tone. "But that's beside the point, I don't want to hear it, I just want to go back to my hotel and sleep."

The moment I moved to take my leave, Nik was in front of me again, with his eyes wide, and his hand gripping my arm comfortably tight. The fire that always ignited whenever his hands were on me lit and flashed down my arm and all through my body, that I could not hold back the shiver this time.

"Let me explain Sweet Swan." He whispered, his nickname for me causing my heart to stammer and breathe to hitch. The wall I built to protect my heart once again crumbled a little, I could not say no. He led me through the house and into another room, slamming his door in Damon and Kol's faces before lighting the sage in one of the draws near the door.

I did not bother to look at him, my eyes never leaving the plush red carpet. "Explain Niklaus; explain to me what I did wrong for you to toss me away like that to make me feel as if I was worthless all over again. I had thought you respected me enough to tell me that our deal was over and you wished to never see me again."

The noise I heard was nothing short of a hiss and a growl before I found myself staring into Nik's blue eyes once more, his fingers gently resting on my chin.

"You believe that?" He asked with a frown.

I jerked my head free and walked towards the windows, my arms wrapping around me as the façade and wall I built crumbled. I had only ever shown Nik the real me since the disastrous incident, I trusted him enough with the real me and now… now it was easier to just show him how tired and hurt I really was.

"Of course I do, I respected you enough to tell you about when I started dating that dick Dick." Yeah, Richard was one of my co-workers in the shitty diner I worked at in Seattle when I was twenty-one. I thought he was a sweetheart, he treated me like an equal and I had thought we were going places until I found out that he was already engaged to another woman. Yeah, waking up and being slapped and scratched was not fun.

I told Nik and I never saw Dick again.

"You were in danger, Iza." Nik explained as if this would make me instantly forgive him. "My father was close and I couldn't risk him finding about you and hurting you to get to me."

"Bullshit." I replied, turning to face him once more.

"It is the truth!" He spat out as he began to pace, I knew Nik; I knew that he defaulted to anger whenever he felt overly stressed or well overly anything really.

I picked up the closest thing in reach and chucked it at him, the shattering of the pencils went everywhere causing him to stop and whip his head around with an angry snarl. "I've killed people for less, don't push me love; I've already let you hit me and scream at me… throwing my art supplies goes too far."

I stare at him blandly. "Go for it, I don't care; got nothing else left to care for."

This drew him up short. "Charlie? Renee?"

"They are dead! Almost four months ago. Vampire." I inform him, the gaping wound in my chest bursting open once again. I had found Charlie torn to shreds and his blood dripping from the walls and roof when I came home for a visit and a call from the police in Jacksonville informing me of my mother's death.

I knew it was Victoria, I could smell her and the wolves had told me they tried but she snuck through, lead them on a chase with two others and in that time they must have slipped past and killed Charlie. I called bullshit because the smell of my father's corpse told me he had been there for two days. That is when I packed up all my stuff and kept moving. I did not stop in a town for longer than a week at most.

"Why didn't you ca… I'm sorry love." Klaus stated while pulling me into a hug and I was so done, there was just too much strain. I could feel the pain burst, the memories of everything, the harsh words the feelings… it was too much.

I felt the darkness creep up and I could hear Klaus calling my name through a haze but I did not care, I just wanted the pain to stop, wanted it all to stop… so I welcomed the darkness and the numbness that came with it.

* * *

 **Author Note: I have no clue in which I am writing but this is really where the prompts took me, angsty gush and mush.**


	3. Chapter Three

**FAGE 8: Soul Mates**  
 **Title:** The Way You Are  
 **Written for:** CloeMarrie  
 **Written By:** TheDarkestFallingStar

 **Beta: Lisa**  
 **Rating:** M  
 **Summary:** She did not expect this, it started something casual and he just… broke down all her walls and vice versa. Cursed Wolf, Sweet Swan… what could go wrong?

 **Prompt used:** Just The Way You Are by Bruno Mars/ They are screw buddies but she falls for him

 **If you would like to see all the stories that are a part of this exchange visit the Facebook group: Fanficaholics Anon: Where Obsession Never Sleeps, or add the C2 to get all the stories direct to your inbox.  
**

 **community/FAGE-8-Soul-Mates/93625/**

* * *

 **Chapter Three – Klaus POV**

"Come on Love, wake up!" I yell, shaking Iza slightly as she went limp in my arms. I could hear her heart rate slow and something within me snapped, I kicked the door to my study down and rushed towards the closest bathroom near it.

"Bloody Hell Nik! Get out!" Rebekah screamed as I burst past her, but this could not wait.

"Shut up and help me!" I roared laying Iza gently on the ground before turning the cold water in the shower on full strength.

My darling sister just stared at Iza and me with wide eyes and raised brows. Useless, the lot of them are bloody useless. I groaned as I stripped out of my shirt and tore Iza's jacket away from her frame, snarling as I saw how thin she was, before stepping under the icy water.

"Come on Love, don't give up, I'll let you hit me and yell at me all you like if you just wake up!" I yelled at her, shaking her softly to rouse her but even the cold water would not wake her from her slumber. Her heartrate dropped more and blank eyes stared up at me, eyes that were the most honest and expressive ones I had ever seen that should not be blank.

"Elijah!" I yell once more as I rush from my sister's room to my own and laid her gently on the bed.

"Niklaus! What is the meaning of this?" Elijah demanded as he appeared at the doorway, Kol and Rebekah behind him.

I snarled and threw the table closest to me across the room. "Just help her… _please_."

Elijah's brows rose higher and I watched as he slowly made his way to my Iza's side and began to check her over. A frown pulled at his brows as he came to a stop at the bites upon her wrist, growling softly.

"How did she come by this? How is she still human?" My brother demanded, ever the noble Elijah but now was not the time for such folly questions.

"Later, this is more important!" I hissed, gesturing to Iza. "She just went limp and her heart rate slows."

"Nik, there is nothing I can do. I will make a few calls and we may need the help of the Bennett witch." Elijah tried to sooth me, he really did and I could see that he was waiting for me to scream and rant or even simply dagger him in a fit of rage at even the _mere_ idea of the Bennett witch being near Iza.

However, if that little witch could help her then "Fine, fine!"

The others left the room quickly with surprise on their faces and I began to strip Iza and myself out of the saturated clothing before throwing on a pair of pants and gave one of my shirts for her. My heart constricted as I lay down by her side and pulled her close to me, she was tiny more so than I last saw her.

"How could you think you are worthless? How could you think that I… You make me feel different Sweet Swan, it scares me sometimes how you make me feel. Our deal was casual sex, yet it seemed to turn into more and I was worried, terrified that someone would find about you and hurt you." I whispered softly, pulling her closer to me as I tuned out the sounds of my siblings downstairs.

"I don't know when it happened but one day I just saw _you,_ you smiled up at me with flushed cheeks and a hazy gleam to your eye and it just made the world stop, I couldn't tear my eyes away." I confessed, remembering that night well.

It was after dick the Dick as she so eloquently calls him. She was upset and pissed off, I did not even stop her when she began to kiss me, and I knew the deal of the whole casual thing. My room needed to be remodelled after that night. My blood and hers mingled together as she scratched down my back, my name tore from her lips, and the taste of her blood on my tongue.

I collapsed next to her when we finished out climax, she had curled into me and I felt my heart skip as she grinned up at me lazily, her eyes hooded before she fell asleep in my arms. I did not know what happened that night or how to explain it but I felt different, everything after that was different. Everything about her called to me, the casual way she spoke to me and how she did not fear me, the way she laughed when I told her something hilarious or she saw something hilarious.

 _Her lips, her lips_

 _I could kiss them all day if she'd let me_

 _Her laugh, her laugh_

 _She hates but I think it is so sexy_

 _She is so beautiful_

I didn't trust her at first, in fact I was simply going to make her a meal as she smelt delectable but her calling me Cursed Wolf caught me off guard, her story caught me off guard too and I didn't know how a 19 year old could feel the amount of betrayal and anger I felt.

Sweet Swan seemed to understand him and vice versa.

"Please Sweet Swan, you need to wake." I sigh before snapping my head to the door as Caroline and Bonnie stood in the doorway. "I need you to help her."

The little witch frowned and stepped into the room, Caroline matching her movement, one hand always on her friend.

"What makes you think I can help or want to?" The little witch asked, and it took everything within me not to snarl or even more to break her pretty little neck.

"Because she's human, she's a human who got hurt by the supernatural race and I cannot let… I cannot lose her." I confessed, tearing my eyes away from the two Scooby gang and back down the Sweet Swan's pale face.

"I don't know if I can help her Klaus. There is nothing magical around her that is causing this." Bonnie explained and my body sagged, grief decided to come and chase away any form of hope.

"Then go." I snarl, burrowing my face back into Isa's hair. I ignored them as they left the room in a shuffle, I even ignored Caroline as she tried to talk or offer comfort but I did not wish to deal with her. She had made her decision on where they stood, even if he had come to care for the blonde-haired woman, but his heart lay with the brunette in his bed.

It was an hour later when the idea struck me, why didn't I think of it before. "I'm sorry Sweet Swan; you'll have to forgive me." I whisper before biting my wrist and laying the wound over her lips, coaching her throat to drink.

If she woke up, I would deal with the wrath of Iza, after all I knew she did not wish to be like us.

* * *

 **Author Note: I am… a little… awkward with writing Klaus.**


	4. Chapter Four

**FAGE 8: Soul Mates**  
 **Title:** The Way You Are  
 **Written for:** CloeMarrie  
 **Written By:** TheDarkestFallingStar

 **Beta: Lisa**  
 **Rating:** M  
 **Summary:** She did not expect this, it started something casual and he just… broke down all her walls and vice versa. Cursed Wolf, Sweet Swan… what could go wrong?

 **Prompt used:** Just The Way You Are by Bruno Mars/ They are screw buddies but she falls for him

 **If you would like to see all the stories that are a part of this exchange visit the Facebook group: Fanficaholics Anon: Where Obsession Never Sleeps, or add the C2 to get all the stories direct to your inbox.  
community/FAGE-8-Soul-Mates/93625/**

* * *

 **Chapter Four – Bella POV**

I felt cold in this darkness, cold and warm at the same time. Why were there no numbness and no nothingness? This was not right! I had hoped to finally just give up and fade but I am stuck in purgatory.

Existing and not existing in the same moment of time. It was torture and I curse the gods who caused this because it was unfair. Even in death or stasis of death, I was still hurting still living in hell and cold.

 _"Just help her…_ please _."_ That certainly was Nik's voice!

 _Great, even in hell I cannot escape him…_

 _"…this? How is she still human?"_ That was a new voice and I could tell he was pissed; it also aggravated me as I could feel his fingers probing my neck and wrist. _"…may need the help of the Bennett witch."_

A witch, a witch will not be able to help me because this was my own bloody doing, I wanted the pain to stop and so I just gave up. The cold vanished and I found myself surrounded by warmth and the smell of leather and the very distinct scent of Klaus.

 _What on earth! Why is he here? Why is he even holding me the blasted cursed wolf?_

 _"How could you think you are worthless? How could you think that I…"_ If I was awake, I would be sure that I would have the look of utter surprise and disbelief on my face. _"You make me feel diff… Swan, it scares me sometimes how you make me feel… terrified...me one would find about you and hurt you."_

I—I did not know what to think about that, I had never seen this side of Nik, sure I have seen his friendly side but this? This was raw and emotional, something he guarded closely to his chest so he would not get hurt again. I had hoped I'd see it, if lucky even experience a little bit of that when we were together instead of the primal closed off Cursed Wolf, but I loved him just the way he was.

 _"I don't know when it happened but one day I just saw you, you smiled up at me with flushed cheeks and a hazy gleam to your eye and it just made the world stop, I couldn't tear my eyes away."_

 _What_? No! I _must_ have heard that wrong, but then again… _No Bella, he could be lying_ … or he could be telling the truth and I will not be hurt again.

 _He already left you once for your own protection, what makes you think he would not do that again_ … okay, so my conscious was a bitch but she did have a point. He did leave me once for my own protection. It was such a move that I could not help but compare him to Dickward.

I argued with myself for a little bit longer before I felt the sensation of being… hmm… I could sense someone trying to reach into my mind, but had no such luck. Since James bit me and Edward sucked out the venom, my shield seemed to intensify. Thankfully, that sensation did not last for long, and whomever that was trying, gave up.

Though Nik and I would be having words if I wake up about allowing the person to attempt to breach into my mind, he knew how much I hate it because of Dickward. He also knew that mental powers of any kind be it witchy, Cold Ones or even compelling could not work on me. So why did he think that allowing someone would work?

 _"I'm sorry Sweet Swan; you'll have to forgive me."_ Nik whispered and it set me on edge, something was not right… Why would he be apologising to me? This was not right, something was wrong.

The taste of something metallic and rich exploded on my tongue, jolting my body at the flavour only when I got over the confusion and shock of it I let the rage consume me as I realised what he had done. The bastard, he knew I did not want to be a vampire, I would have changed my mind surely, if there were a chance between he and I but this… this pissed me off! When I get my hands on him...!

A scream tore from my lips as the chains holding me in this purgatory broke and pain exploded in my wrist. It felt like the Cold One change all over again but worse if that was possible. I could hear yelling over my screams as I tore myself from whatever was holding me to claw at my wrist and arm as the venom spread.

"Iza you need to calm!" I heard Nik yell causing me to snap my blurry eyes around to him as the pain bloomed up to my neck and the side of my face. I could make out the others and their horrified faces.

"VENOM!" I screamed as I clawed at my neck and face. I felt hands on me, holding me still and from stopping my clawing but it did not stop the scream as the venom began to wash over me, burning hotter and hotter to the point my flesh was burning away. Why did this hurt more than the first time, more than the moment Edward sucked out the venom? This was torture beyond hell even and it was maddening. No wonder there were fucked up vampires! If one had to sit through this agony, and to feel the burn of every cell and molecule before being created once more! Well, I might even feel a smidge of sympathy for them.

My eyes snapped open as it reached my heart, locking onto the frantic desperate eyes of Nik. There was really only one thing I could say to him, confess really. "Love… you." I gasp out before clenching my eyes shut as my heart thudded painfully in my chest and darkness took me once more.

This time, I did not expect to wake up.

* * *

 **Author Note: The story has run away from me now…**


	5. Chapter Five

**FAGE 8: Soul Mates**  
 **Title:** The Way You Are  
 **Written for:** CloeMarrie  
 **Written By:** TheDarkestFallingStar

 **Beta: Lisa**  
 **Rating:** M  
 **Summary:** She did not expect this, it started something casual and he just… broke down all her walls and vice versa. Cursed Wolf, Sweet Swan… what could go wrong?

 **Prompt used:** Just The Way You Are by Bruno Mars/ They are screw buddies but she falls for him

 **If you would like to see all the stories that are a part of this exchange visit the Facebook group: Fanficaholics Anon: Where Obsession Never Sleeps, or add the C2 to get all the stories direct to your inbox.  
**

 **community/FAGE-8-Soul-Mates/93625/**

* * *

 **Chapter Five – Klaus POV**

The absolute horror and agony I felt when she had uttered those two words caused my heart to shatter. This was a curse, this was karma from all that I have done or caused.

"Nik." I ignored the soft voice of my sister as I pulled Iza closer to me. "Come brother, you need to let her go. It is too late."

"I refuse, I can't…" I choke out, my words muffled by Iza's hair. There was no pulse, no sound at all, and she was still. "I could not save her."

I felt my body pushed back into a sitting position against the headboard but I could not tear my eyes away from Sweet Swans bloody face. She had done a lot of damage to her neck, face, arm and shoulder from where she clawed at them and those would never heal.

"Who was she Niklaus?" Elijah asked and for once, I did not feel like snapping at him.

"My saviour," I confessed. "She knew me, know my torment for she had suffered along the same lines. She had fallen for a Cold One but he broke her, lured her in and left."

"Is that how she got the bites?" This time Kol asked.

I simply nodded, brushing a strand of hair from Iza's face. "They had a tracker after her, he lured her away and bit her, and her Cold One sucked the venom out. She was his singer; you can guess why he put her through that torture."

"How old was she when this happened?" Rebekah asked hardness to her voice. Yes, we were monsters in the eyes of others but children we do not harm or use venom for torture on a human.

"Sixteen–Seventeen. They left the trackers mate alive and I tried to find her but cannot. I should have tried harder." I hissed out, clenching my eyes shut to control the rage.

"The Cold Ones, who did this, will suffer when I find them. Did she tell you their names?" Rebekah asked sharply.

"Cullen's? The name rings a bell but I can't recall their faces." I state, my fingers running through Iza's blood soaked hair. I still could not let her go, nor could I grasp the concept of her being gone. Elijah's eyes pinched and I knew that as a sign of him recognising the name.

"I have met Carlisle, seemed to preach humanity, I cannot see him allowing this at all but then again looks can be deceiving. I shall make a few calls and find their location as well as this… mate they left for a human to defend against; it could ease your mind." He muttered while fixing his sleeves to his suit and giving me one last look. It was a first that I saw him share a look of sadness that did not involve pity or even a patronising glimpse.

I could not help but sigh, my heart clenching as I pulled Iza closer to me. "It's too late for that but do it any way, if the Cullen's are toeing the line then I would like to know about it."

"She could be changing." Kol spoke up my eyes snapped to his instantly. "She had venom in her system yes? Maybe your blood is trying to fight the venom and vice versa. It has been done before and the consequences for each change varied, but Nik if this is true then you won't like the outcome."

"And how do you know about this?" I ask watching as Kol's face turned sheepish.

"Whenever you let me out of that blasted box I decided to have some fun, but really when you woke me and the sparkles walked this earth I came across a changing, I didn't know what was happening and gave the poor girl my blood. The effect was the same." He explained, gesturing to Iza with a worried frown. This had my interest, Kol was never worried about anything that did not concern him but that mattered not.

Rebekah was horrified. "What happened?"

"The change was maddening, not as painful as the original Cold One change nor as quick as ours. The girl woke up maddened, hungry and in a rage. She nearly tore through a small town until I killed her. She was a hybrid of both worlds, a Cold One and a Traditional; I had to snap her neck and burn her." I did not know who was more horrified at Kol's explanation, Rebekah or me.

"Out! Both of you OUT!" I snarled my patience and temper snapping. For the first time Kol and Rebekah left without an argument, leaving me with Iza.

"Oh Sweet Swan I do hope you have the will to survive this." I sigh out before gathering all I need to wash away the blood.

I let my mind wander as I dunked the cloth into the warm water, there was no movement, not even a flinch as I began to wipe away the blood and I cannot comprehend it. Even in her sleep Iza was never still, she was always moving, in ways it comforted me.

If she were to perish then that would be the end of me, there would be no saving me, not if I lost her completely. She was my mate, I could see that now – no I could understand that now – I chose to see it.

 _Love you_

Two words, two words she had uttered to me in her last waking breath with such honesty I did not know were possible. She built up my world and crashed it in milliseconds.

 _Love you_

"Even now you taunt me." I snarl, tossing the water bowl away letting it shatter against the wall. I let out a scream, my hands tugging at my hair as I tried to drown out her voice, her laugh and smile, the way her brows pulled down in thought and how she bit her bottom lip.

"No! It is a lie! You cannot love me! I am a monster!" I scream turning my back upon her, trying to deny it, to shut out the world once more and be the cold-hearted bastard they all knew. Before she tore my walls down and made me, _feel_ again.

"But I do love you." My head snapped around so fast that I heard a crack; there before me with open eyes cast with a red gleam was Iza. "Even a monster, I love you just the way you are."

"Iza?" I whisper in disbelief, my hand outstretch to touch her face, to reassure me this was not a waking nightmare.

She turned her face into my palm and smiled, revealing her pointed teeth. "Nik."

* * *

 **Author Note: That's all folks… or maybe a sequel?**

 **Big thank you to Lisa who beta'd this for me!**


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